Words Unspoken
by alchemicmonkey
Summary: Alphonse deals with losing his first love in this sad one shot story.


Words Unspoken

Alphonse Elric stood very still, arms crossed firmly over his chest more for warmth than a defiant stance. Cold December wind blew through Resembool, but to him it was nothing – his heart was much, much colder. Ever so slowly, almost timidly, he reached out a gloved hand and gently touched the gravestone before him. The tears he had fought back so fiercely tumbled down his pallid cheeks as salty cascades of sadness and regret.

* * *

"Al!" a girl's voice called. He turned around and his arms were filled with a body. "I missed you."

"I've only been gone a few hours, Bianca. You make it sound like it's been longer," he laughed, returning the gesture.

"Get a room!" Edward grumbled as he shook the rain from his blond hair.

"Nice to see you too, Ed." Bianca grinned, brushing her purple hair out of her face with the back of her hand.

"What?" Edward asked, shrugging out of his damp jacket.

"Sorry, _teacher_." She corrected sarcastically, sticking out her tongue.

"That's better." Edward confirmed before wandering away. Bianca was Kain Fuery's cousin and she spent much time at headquarters, doing odd jobs and watching the state alchemists. After Eckart invaded, she had wanted to become a state alchemist, but her lack of alchemic skill hindered her immensely. She considered a teacher, but found only one who she thought was acceptable. The downside was he went through the gate to close it from the other side. Four years later, when she turned seventeen, she learned that they had returned. With some convincing (and probably some threatening) from Roy Mustang, Edward Elric was employed as her teacher, although if she could have her way she would've chosen the gentle Alphonse instead of his brash, short-tempered older brother. And as one might expect, she began to develop feelings for Alphonse, though she dared not voice them for fear of ruining the friendship they had established.

"Does it always rain in Resembool? It's been stormy ever since we arrived." She noted, glancing out the rain streaked window to the gray, cloudy skies above.

"We need rain here too." Winry Rockbell said as she entered the room, a wrench dangling from her hand. "It washed away the blood." She added, glancing first at the wrench, then back at where Edward had vanished.

"What happened?" Bianca asked carefully, watching Winry storm through the house, tossing tools and yelling at Edward as she went.

"Well, we checked out the caves like our orders stated and Brother got his automail kinda… crushed by a large rock." Alphonse replied, his brown-grey eyes following the mechanic and soon-to-be bloody pulp. Bianca nodded, completely understanding how… protective Winry could be of her automail.

Late that night, a loud, animalistic howling woke Alphonse from a dead sleep. Something very large made the noises as it circled the perimeter of the yellow house. Bianca appeared in the doorway, dressed and with her sword hanging from her belt. Fear and determination battled over control of her expression, neither one really winning.

"It's a chimera." She said. That was all Alphonse needed to be dressed and outside in record time. "There's more than one now." She said as he walked slowly up to where she and Edward stood, ready to defend the house. Winry and Pinako stayed inside, since the only thing they could do against the beasts was wait for the alchemists to get rid of them. A light breeze made the chilly morning air swirl around the three. The chimeras, ugly creatures with scales, fur, horse heads and lion tails, paced the yard with their teeth bared. A deep, guttural, threatening growl ripped from about ten throats and set the alchemists on edge. Two quick transmutations and a howl later, en chimeras and three alchemists were darting about the yard, fighting for survival.

Blood mingled with leftover rain as the beasts fell one by one. Dawn painted the dark, star-studded sky with streaks of pink, lavender, and orange. Edward wiped blood and sweat off his forehead as he stepped away from a chimera carcass. Blood dripped from his signature automail blade onto the muddy ground. Alphonse dropped to one knee, using the lance he transmuted for support. Three ragged, parallel claw marks ran across his back, from his left shoulder to his lower back. The white fabric of his shirt, or what was left of it, was dyed a deep crimson from the blood that oozed from the wounds. Bianca sighed and sheathed her sword. If she had more control of her alchemy, the fight would've been much easier on all of them. She crouched down next to Alphonse and examined the damage, completely ignoring the pain from her own wounds.

Edward surveyed the area. Disposing of the corpses would be slightly problematic, but it could be done. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw one corpse twitch, then move. One chimera was still alive, and it was aiming for Alphonse and Bianca. Edward was completely across the battlefield, but he ran for the monster anyway.

"Bianca! Al!" he called, desperately wishing they would move. The two looked up at the sound of his voice, alerted to danger by his tone. Neither had time to transmute a weapon, run away, or defend themselves from the charging beast. Without stopping to think, Bianca moved in front of Alphonse, shielding him. The chimera reached out a claw. Bianca's breath hitched in her throat as the claw pierced her body, barely grazing Alphonse's chest from where it stuck out of her back. Two seconds later, it dropped to the ground, blood pouring from a hole in its head. Bianca toppled backwards onto Alphonse, further staining his clothes with the blood that flowed steadily from the five-inch hole in her abdomen. A small sound escaped Alphonse's lips.

"Bianca…?" he breathed, scared to move. Tears stung his eyes and he forced them back. She fixated her blue eyes on his brown ones.

"Al… the sun came out…" she said, glancing at the blue sky dotted with pink and gold clouds. The storm from the days before now seemed like a distant memory.

"Yeah… it did, didn't it?" he chuckled. The sun had risen over the horizon and illuminated the landscape of his hometown. He opened his mouth to say something else, but stopped himself. Bianca was not going to be alright, like he wanted to tell her. She was losing far too much blood and already her skin was a pale white. She was dying and there was nothing anyone could do to save her.

"It's so pretty…" she coughed weakly. She gazed into Alphonse's eyes, clearly seeing the pain and sorrow he was trying so hard to hide. She managed to pull herself out of her reclined position on his lap so she was mostly sitting on her own. She grabbed his face and kissed him, conveying everything she had never said but wanted to with one gentle, passionate action. Alphonse kissed her back, letting her know that her feelings were reciprocated though he never told her. When she pulled away, tears began their silent journey down his cheeks. He smiled weakly, trying to be strong. She returned the gesture as her life slipped away from her and her body went limp in his arms.

"Bianca…?" he asked softly. He shook her gently, trying to rouse her. "Bianca?" he repeated, more urgently this time. "No… no, please don't leave me! Bianca!" he cried, holding her body close to him. No sooner than the thought had entered his head, than the idea of transmuting her fled. He wouldn't be able to do it. He didn't want to lose something else in another failed attempt at creating human life. So he cried. It was the only thing he really anted to do, and probably the only thing he was capable of doing. Edward roughly wiped his cheeks. He had not been aware of his own tears until he had started making those shaky sniffles people make when they cry. The scene was too emotional… too sad… just too much, even for him.

* * *

"Al…" Edward started. The younger brother turned around. He took the paper the older brother offered. It was a picture of Bianca, and a very rare item as she hated having her picture taken. "I took it when she wasn't looking." He added. Bianca was curled up on a chair, gazing dreamily out a window.

"Thanks…" Alphonse choked, throwing himself at his brother and sobbing into his shirt. His heart ached horribly and the tears wouldn't stop. After a few minutes, Edward went back to the house, leaving Alphonse to stare moodily at the gravestone. He caressed it, wrapping his arms around it as firmly as he could, and rested his cheek on the cold surface.

"_Al!_" her voice chirped, now a distant memory.

"Bianca… I love you." He muttered, biting his lip. He could've sworn he heard her reply.

"I love you too, Alphonse." He looked up. Bianca stood behind the gravestone, transparent and smiling in the sunset. He blinked and she was gone. He shook his head and smiled to himself. He looked to the suffocating orange sky and sighed, tucking the picture in his pocket. A light breeze ruffled his hair. He turned and made his way back to the house. All the unspoken words he kept locked away in his broken heart floated away on the breeze, along with some of the weight crushing it. But it would heal. He would heal and maybe…one day… fall in love all over again.

_A/N: I almost cried while writing this. Just another idea I had floating around my brain. It's a stand alone story that is not related to my other stories in any way except for the original FMA characters. The background/theme music for this story is "Somewhere Out There" by Our Lady Peace. It really helped set the mood for the story and enhances your reading experience, I think. So go listen to it and read the story again._


End file.
